Alaska's Flag
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue —
Alaska’s flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes and the flow’rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough’s dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The "Bear" — the "Dipper" — and, shining
high,
The great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska’s Flag — to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier.
(Marie Drake)
The text of "Alaska's Flag" was based on Benny Benson's design submitted in a territory wide contest for school children sponsored by the American Legion in 1926. At that time Benny was a thirteen-year-old, seventh-grader of Russian-Aleut and Swedish descent, studying at the Territorial School at Seward and a resident of the Jesse Lee Mission Home.
The Alaska Legislature officially adopted his design on May 2, 1927 and praised his winning entry for "its simplicity, its originality and its symbolism."
Marie Drake's poem Alaska's Flag, based on Benson's design, describes "The field of blue" as typifying the evening sky, the blue of the sea and of mountain lakes, and of the wild flowers that grow in Alaska's soil. The gold signifies the wealth that lies hidden in Alaska's hills and streams. Seven of the "Eight stars of gold on a field of blue" represent the constellation Ursa Major and the most conspicuous, The Dipper, is the Great Bear, a symbol of strength.
Marie Drake (1888-1963) was born in Ohio. She married James Drake in 1907 and moved to Alaska with her husband when he was assigned to work for the Bureau of Public Roads. Marie was employed by the Department of Education and she became the Assistant Commissioner of Education in 1934. One of her tasks was to edit the School Bulletin that was circulated throughout the territorial schools. "Alaska's Flag" first appeared on the cover of the October 1935 School Bulletin.
Elinor Dusenbury, a singer and public school choral director, put Marie Drake's word to music. As the wife of the Commanding Officer of the Chilkoot Barracks at Haines from 1933 to 1936, she had fallen in love with Alaska. She said, "I wrote the music for Marie's beautiful poetry from pure unadulterated homesickness for Alaska! I shed more tears on the boat going out than I ever have before or since. I had a book on Alaska with the picture of the flag and Marie's poem." In the summer of 1938 Dusenbury visited Juneau and played her setting of the poem for Marie on the piano at the Baranof Hotel. Tears came to the poet's eyes.
A publisher was found and soon afterwards Omaha radio station WOW sent the music to Fred Waring, Two weeks later, his Glee Club performed the song on the Chesterfield Hour. It was a surprise to both Dusenbury and Drake, however, when the Legislature passed its adoption as the official song of the Territory in 1955.
Credits:
Choir of the North
Dr. John Hopkins, Conductor and Arranger
University of Alaska Fairbanks Department of Music
Notes:
The piano played by Dusenbury was destroyed by a fire at the Baranof Hotel in 1984.
The copyright to Alaska's Flag is held by the University of Alaska Foundation.
Resources:
Davis, Carol Beery. Alaska's Flag. Juneau, 1964.
Potter, Velma Moos. God Flies Benny's Flag: A Story of Benny Benson and Alaska.
Seattle: Frontier, 1989.
Swagel, Will. Alaska's Flag. Sitka Historical Society, 1994.
The
Alaska Flag Story
